27 January 2012

All tadpoles develop into frogs, but all frogs do not develop from tadpoles.

Certain frogs swallow their eggs, then allow them to hatch into tadpoles and then mature into tiny frogs—in their mother's stomachs.

A frog's tongue is attached to the front of the mouth so that it can more quickly catch prey.

Some frogs can stay submerged under water for months. If left in a dry atmosphere, some species will die within 3 hours.

A Jamaican frog lays eggs in a cave and, after they hatch into frogletts, carries them out on her back to a friendlier environment.

A West Africa frog is covered with hair.

Most frogs eat only that which has a pulse, while 80% of the diet of the Indian green frog is leaves and flowers.

Some frogs can jump 20 times their own body length in one leap, over 50 feet for us humans. The longest known frog jump is about 33 feet.

Frog bones, like trees, form a new ring every year during hibernation

A painkiller with 200 times the power of morphine has been found in the skin of a frog.

Frogs cannot live in salt water.

Captive frogs have lived for as long as 20 years

Next time you are out in the country on a summer night, listen to nature's music all around you. Those high tenor voices coming from high up in the trees, those deep bass ones coming from way down the creek—you guessed it—it is the music of the wonderland of frogs.

What are frogs? Well, to describe them is a little tricky because there are so many varieties and they are so different.

Perhaps the best place to begin is with what frogs have in common. All are cold-blooded creatures that can live both in water and on land. Because their body temperature changes with their surroundings, they usually feel cold to us. They have two bulging eyes and a nose on top of their heads, external eardrums, no obvious neck, two front legs and two back legs, the latter being used for leaping. And they do not drink. How do they get moisture? All their intake is absorbed through the skin. Toads (a “land” variety of frogs) press against something moist to absorb water through their skin. They even have the ability to taste through the skin. And they have a body with insides very much like those of larger animals. Many high school students have dissected these creatures in biology classes where they saw intestines, liver, pancreas, lungs, spleen, etc.

I admit that this description is not very complete. But when our Creator decided to include frogs among earth's residents, He wanted them to be healthy and live in all kinds of places. So in many, many ways frogs differ, according to the region they inhabit. Of course, Pharaoh would not agree, but frogs in most places do provide a good service to their surroundings, helping to control insects, as well as being useful in medical research. Some are also used for food and are considered a delicacy, while others have poison in their skin.

What Does a Frog Look Like?

Of course, everyone knows what a frog looks like! If you have seen one frog, you have seen them all-right? Not exactly. Just look at the names of a few of the 2500 different species of known frogs, and you will have some idea of their diverse appearances. There is the Rocket frog, which actually resembles a rocket. Can you guess what the Horned frog, a native of South America, looks like? (It is as big as a large dinner plate and shaped like a mushroom with two little appendages on each side, has a couple of holes for breathing and two bulging eyes mounted over a huge smile.) Try to imagine what these look like: the Western Spotted frog, the Turtle frog, the Orange-crowned Toadlet (also a frog), the Clawed frog, the Wood frog, the Platypus frog, the White-lipped frog, the Goliath frog, and some 2500 others. Just how varied are they? They range in size all the way from less than half an inch to one foot!

Where Do Frogs Come From?

Some people used to think that frogs came from the sky during heavy rain. Before the rain started to pour down, there were no frogs to be seen. Then suddenly, they were everywhere. Being so sure they came from the sky, someone in England probably performed one of the first scientific tests: He put pans outside. It was soon discovered that they came from the ground, where they had hidden while waiting for the rain. Now they were hopping with joy.

Then came the theory that frogs evolved about 200 million years ago. Fossil remains have been found that were declared to be that old. Isn't it strange, though, if they came by evolution, that they still look like frogs after 200 million years?

Still others claim that they developed from tadpoles. This isn't exactly right either, as we will see later.

How Do Frogs Multiply?

Several species of frogs lay eggs—some lay as many as 4,000—in a mass of jelly (spawn) in water, and the eggs hatch into tiny tadpoles. Unlike frogs, the tadpoles have external gills for breathing under water (they do not have lungs,) and a tail for swimming. As they mature they begin to grow legs and develop lungs. Suddenly they quit eating for about four days. During this time, a remarkable change takes place: from tadpole to frog. Dr. Tyrone Hayes has commented on this amazing process: "In one tiny little egg, [are] two completely different animals." Is this evidence of evolution? No, the makings of the frog, as Dr. Hayes pointed out, are in the egg. An intelligent Designer placed everything in order many millions of years ago. Are they perhaps copies of something He created in the past on some other world?

What keeps the tadpoles from starving during the transition from tadpole to frog? Well, the Designer didn't overlook anything. He always cares for His creatures, small or large. You see, tadpoles don't just lose their tail, they absorb it. Nothing is lost except the gills, which disappear. Now little frogs, they hop out of the water.

But not all species of frogs lay eggs in water. One, the Foam Nest frog, lays eggs in a foam nest (in branches of a tree or bush). When the rains come, the nest dissolves and the eggs drop into the rain water, which is sufficient for the eggs to develop into frogs. (Just how did this frog figure out this unusual process, that they could build the nest and the rain would take care of the rest?)

Another group of frogs lay eggs in damp places instead of in water. These eggs do not hatch into tadpoles, but directly into baby frogs.

The Marsupial frog lays eggs in a brood patch on the mother's back, where they hatch and pop out as little frogs, ready to make their way in the world.

2 Poison-Arrow tadpoles on their mothers back. She will deposit them high up in a bromeliad plant "pool" to develop.

Do you think this is unusual? Read on.

Another Marsupial frog from the border between New South Wales and Queensland, Australia, lays her eggs in a patch of jelly right on the surface of the ground. The male keeps an eye on them until they hatch. The jelly then liquifies, allowing the tadpoles to swim freely-right into the males' "hip pockets" where they remain until they emerge as baby frogs.

As amazing as this is, it is a small wonder beside the incredible Gastric frog. Found in Queensland, Australia, this frog spends nearly all its time in water just relaxing. However, it is a powerful swimmer and is also capable of traveling long distances on land. The Gastric Brooding frogs, discovered in 1972 and 1984, had perhaps not been found earlier because of their small size and timid nature (males grow to about 1.2 inches, females to about 2.2 inches).

What is so strange about this frog? The female, after laying her eggs, swallows them—about 18-25 fertilized, cream-colored eggs. During the next 6 to 8 weeks, while the eggs develop into tadpoles, then into frogs, the female does not eat. The process switches off the production of hydrochloric acid in her stomach wall, shutting down the entire digestive process to prevent the mother from digesting the young. (Just think of the benefit for us humans if we could learn how to do this for patients with gastric ulcers.) The tadpoles do not feed either. As they mature, they become larger, filling most of the cavity inside the mother-so much so that she can't even take a deep breath.

Finally, after about 8 weeks, the mother opens her mouth wide and the youngsters are propelled into her mouth. They hop out, and go their way. Those that aren't ready for the outside world are just swallowed again until later. (How did the species survive while she was learning this remarkable process?)

Another type of Gastric Brooding frog rivals it closely. This frog also swallows its eggs, and in this frog no one knows how the young are prevented from being digested, because the gastric juices are not turned off. It is thought that the eggs may be covered with mucus, like the lining of the stomach wall, to protect them. These eggs hatch into tiny tadpoles, then into frogletts which mother frog expels at the appropriate time. Does this sound impossible? Perhaps you have been underestimating the ability of your Creator.* If He can make such creatures as these, we should have no doubt that He can fulfill what He has promised to His faithful children.

Music from Frogland

The sounds which frogs make are almost as varied as their means of reproducing. The pitch of the frogs' voice seems to be in direct proportion to his size: big frog, deep voice, tiny frog, high voice. For example, the Carpenter frog sounds similar to sawing a board with a handsaw, the Pig frog sounds like a grunting pig, and of course, the Bull frog sounds similar to a bull. (You can hear these and other sounds at www.naturesound.com/) Many of the frogs are identified by the sounds which they make (the Banjo frog, the Humming frog, the Moaning frog, the Quacking frog).

Home for Froggie

Frogs have something in common with just about every other living creature. Our Creator has designed them very specifically for the regions which they inhabit. And frogs inhabit just about every region on earth, the only exceptions being the regions of the Arctic and Antarctic. They are found in cold areas such as Alaska and Canada, in streams and lakes of the Deep South, rainforests, and even in the desert. How did the Creator equip these varying species to live in such varied places?

The answer to this question is more involved than the scope of this article, however a few observations will show us how little we know about our living companions on earth. We can only marvel at our Creator's handiwork.

Wood Frogs of the North

Let's visit the Wood frogs that live around the Alaskan ponds and forests. How do they survive?

When late July arrives, it's time to begin preparing to survive the winter. First, they disappear under the leaves in the forests to bed down for the winter. Even protected by the snow pack and bed of leaves, the temperature is believed to drop at least to 5° Fahrenheit. As the temperature drops and their eyeballs and brain begin to freeze, it seems that the cold sends a message to their tiny liver which begins to convert glycogen to glucose. The glucose floods their vital cells to resist drying (drying causes frostbite in humans). While the frog may appear dead, with eyes, and brain frozen rock solid, it isn't. When spring arrives it will thaw out and soon the melodies of frogland will be heard again.

How can evolution explain it? Any frog from the temperate or tropical zones would die under these frigid conditions. How did these frogs survive the Alaskan winters while they were "perfecting" their method of survival?

Frogs of the Desert

The desert frog's greatest need is that of every other desert animal: some special means of storing water. Some frogs that live in the Australian desert absorb so much water that the Aborigines catch them to drink their store of water during the dry season. The Australian water-holding frog forms a cocoon of its own shed skin that is so efficient at preventing dehydration that it can wait as long as seven years for water while it is burrowed underground.

The Wax frog can produce wax to cover itself, preventing dehydration during a dry season. (By what evolutionary process did it acquire the know-how and materials to make "wax"?)

Desert frogs, during intense heat, bury themselves in sand or clay and go into a state of torpor.

Tree Frogs

This group of frogs is found in North and South America, as well as Europe and Asia. Tree frogs are especially equipped for living in trees. They have little disks or pads on their fingers and adhesive pads on their toes, and a groove between the tip of the finger and the rest of the finger. Some tree frogs are even better provided for. They have a first finger that is opposed to the remainder (like our thumb) so they can grab onto branches. Their fingers and toes include special disks for sticking onto smooth surfaces.

Flying tree frogs, found in Central America and Southeast Asia, have webbed feet with fan-like structures that enable them to glide from tree to tree or to the ground without injury.

Of course, if a predator gets too close, the Tree frog can leap great distances, gliding to other trees or even sailing to the ground.

Self Defense

How do frogs defend themselves against predators? Some, like the Tomato frog, discharge a thick white substance which is irritating to animals and can produce allergic reactions in people.

Some frogs reflect the same amount of ultraviolet light as their immediate surroundings, making it very difficult to be spotted by predators such as snakes.

Others change their skin color to match the surroundings by expanding and contracting three layers of pigment cells in the skin. (How did Mr. Frog engineer the pigmenting of his skin in this most useful way?)

Many years ago hunters and warriors of South America discovered poisons in certain frog skins. They would kill the frog, then hold it over a fire, which caused the poison to drip out. Arrows dipped in the poison could be used for killing game or an enemy. This practice gave this variety of frog its name: Poison Arrow frog. Like other poisonous creatures and plants, the Poison Arrow frog is brightly colored. Some are blue, some green, some have bright yellow markings. This is code language to all who happen to come near, which means, "Leave me alone! I am not tasty at all!"

Of the poisonous frogs, the Golden Dart frog is most potent. It is said that one frog's skin contains enough poison to kill a thousand humans.

The tip of a dart is rubbed on this species of Poison-dart frog. The poison will be potent for more than a year.

The Frog Evolved?

Does it seem possible that with so much diversity among the frog family, all could have come about by evolution? Could each have designed itself for the exact habitat in which it lives?

For example, how can a frog swallow its eggs until they hatch and develop, without some Master Designer putting the right elements in place?

How long would a desert frog last if taken from the tropics and set free in a frigid Alaskan winter?

Each variety of frogs was specifically designed for its specific region. So masterful was this design that different species still exist, even after approximately 200 million years. What has changed with the process of evolution?

The frog is a rather delicate creature, especially in the larval state. Yet some frogs, those that lay the fewest eggs, are able to protect their young until they are ready to be on their own. Those that lay hundreds or thousands of eggs do so because only a few hatch and mature into frogs. The rest were designed to provide food for other small animals and fish. How did they survive and reproduce until they developed these peculiar features and instincts?

This is not to say that some frogs cannot live equally well in places which are not normal to them. But to introduce a different species to a totally different area can be devastating. Some years ago the cane toad,** was introduced into Australia to kill insects. It seemed like a great idea. These toads will eat almost anything that moves, including insects, small mammals, fish and other amphibians. And they reproduce very rapidly. Pharaoh thought he had a problem? His problem went away. Not so with the cane toads. There are parts of Australia that are literally crawling with them. To complicate matters, they are very poisonous! If animals, such as cats, dogs, birds, bite down on a cane toad, they die—no second chances. How does one figure this into evolution? The animals, since they die, can never learn to leave them alone!

No, frogs have not evolved. Our Master Designer created them and saw that they were placed in just the right environment to survive.

"There are signs for the believing nation in the creation of their (own) selves, and the creation of the animals He has scattered (across the world)." [Quran 45:4]

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References:

*This information was obtained from CSU (Charles Stewart University of Australia); ANCA (Department of the Environment and Heritage, biodiversity group, Australian Government); Monash University of Australia, and the University of Michigan, USA.

**Toads belong to the same family as frogs. The main difference is that toads generally have dry warty skin and spend more time on land than frogs. True frogs have smooth skin and can stay submerged without drowning.

This toad, "a living water bag" stores water during rain for time of drought.

Sources of Information used in this Article:

Charles Stuart University of Australia

Australian Nature Conservation Association 1996.

University of Michigan

ANCA (Department of the Environment and Heritage, biodiversity group, Australian Government)

26 January 2012

“We have selected this girl for you”, “we have selected this boy for you for marriage”, these are the common words that come out from parent’s and guardians’ mouths when the children reach the age of marriage. Islam does not give provision to force the kids in the matter of their marriage. Marriage is the most important decision of one’s life. While deciding or thinking about it, parents must not force their kids to marry the person of their choice, instead they should give their children the liberty of choosing or at least expressing their likeness or dislikeness about the person.

Islam is the religion which gives full liberty to kids to decide for their marriage themselves. Boys are somewhat exempted from being forced but girls fell victim of forced marriages quite often. Their opinion is never considered worthy of giving a thought and mostly, they are forced to live happy with a person whom they do not like. This is very common in subcontinent.

"A girl once came to Muhammad s.a.w.w and said that she was given in marriage forcefully by her father and she did not like that person. Her nikah was nullified by Prophet s.a.w.w. at the spot” [Boook-Bukhari]

This hadith shows that when a girl is not ready to marry a person, her nikah cannot take place. Similarly, for those girls whose parents do not agree to marry her the person of her choice, the wali ship of father is nullified and the next in line paternal blood relation becomes her wali and if she does not find anyone then the qazi is her wali and if she then gets married, there will be no sin upon her. These are the provisions given by ALLAH swt, how can one challenge them?

Mostly, the case of marriage is made an issue of ego by parents. They think that since they have raised their kids, they are even entitled to decide for their lives. Islam says, when kids grow up they should be shown the world, they should be practical enough to take decisions boldly. But when parents jump in and out of ego, they stop their kids and make them to rebel; they actually go against the rules of shariah.

Surely, parents should be given prime importance while deciding about life and their suggestions should be given prime weight, but parents should not hinder their kids from respecting them or to make them do a thing which they will not like.

Forced marriages are not solution to problems, they themselves are problems. If your daughter spend her life without living a single day of happiness and she could not love her husband because that man was not liked by her or parents did not ask her before deciding, parents will be responsible for the discomfort for their daughter, same goes for the sons. So avoid forcing your kids to marry person of your choice but listen to them and also learn to honor their decisions. Similarly, kids must not rebel but make their parents understand first, if they do not listen, then there will be no blame on kids.

24 January 2012

The Prophet Muhammad
ﷺ said: “Do you know who will go first on the Day of Resurrection to the shade of God…Those who when given what is right accept it, when asked for something give freely and who judge in favor of others as they do for themselves.”

——— Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1042

The Best Charity

The Prophet Muhammad
ﷺ said: “The best charity is that given to a relative who does not like you.”

——— Fiqh-us-Sunnah, Volume 3, Number 100

Feed Those in Need

The Prophet Muhammad
ﷺ said: “A man has sinned enough if he neglects to feed those in need.”

——— Fiqh-us-Sunnah, Volume 3, Number 100

Religion is Very Easy

The Prophet Muhammad
ﷺ said: “Religion is very easy, and whoever overburdens himself in his religion will not be able to continue in that way. So you should not be extremists, but try to be near to perfection and receive the good tidings that you will be rewarded.”

——— Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 1, Hadith 38

Love the Poor

The Prophet Muhammad
ﷺ said: “O God, grant me life as a poor man, cause me to die as a poor man and resurrect me in the company of the poor..” His wife asked him why he said that, and he replied: “Because (the poor) will enter Paradise (before) the rich. Do not turn away a poor man…even if all you can give is half a date. If you love the poor and bring them near you..God will bring you near Him on the Day of Ressurrection.”

——— Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1376

Lawful Earnings

The Prophet Muhammad
ﷺ was asked what type of earning was best, and he replied: ” A man’s work with his hands and every (lawful) business transaction.”

——— Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 846

.The Prophet also said: “A truthful and trustworthy merchant is associated with the prophets..”

——— Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 50

And also: “There was a merchant who would lend to the people, and whenever his debtor wasin difficult circumstances, he would say to his employees, ‘Forgive him so that God may forgive us.’ So, God forgave him.”

——— Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 3, Hadith 292

A Seed of Faith

The Prophet Muhammad
ﷺ said: “On the Day of Resurrection I will intercede and say, ‘O my Lord! Admit into Paradise (even) those who have faith equal to a mustard seed in their hearts.’ ”

——— Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 9, Hadith 600

A Living Soul

A funeral procession once passed in front of the Prophet Muhammed
ﷺ and he stood up out of respect. When he was told the person in the coffin was Jewish and not Muslim, he said: “Was it not a living (soul)?”

——— Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 2, Hadith 399

The Rules of War

The Prophet Muhammad
ﷺ once saw the corpse of a woman who had been killed in a military action, and he disapproved of it and forbade the killing of women and children.

Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, a companion of the Prophet Muhammad and his successor as head of the Muslim community, advised one of his military commanders: “Do not kill women or children or an aged, infirm person. Do not cut down fruit-bearing trees. Do not destroy an inhabited place.”

——— Al-Muwatta, Volume 21, Hadith 9 and 10

Service and Humility

When asked what the Prophet Muhammad
ﷺ did while in his house, his wife Ayesha relied: “He used to keep busy serving and helping members of the household.”

Anas bin Malik related that: “(Even the humblest) maid servant of Madina would take the Prophet’s hand and take him to any place (for the redress of her grievances).”

——— Riyadh-us-Salaheen, Hadiths 605 and 606

Be Dutiful to your Mother

The Prophet Muhammad
ﷺ said: “God has forbidden you to be undutiful to your mothers, to withhold (what you should give) or demand (what you do not deserve), or to bury your daughters alive (a pre-Islamic practice).”

——— Sahih Al-Bukhari, Hadith 8:6

The Learned are Heirs of the Prophet

The Prophet Muhammad
ﷺ said: “The learned are heirs of the prophets, and the prophets do not leave any inheritance in the form of (monetary wealth), but they do leave knowledge as their legacy. A person who acquires knowledge, acquires his full share (of this legacy).”

——— Riyadh-us-Salaheen, Number 1388

Visit the Sick and Feed the Hungry

The Prophet Muhammad
ﷺ said: “(God) will (question a person) on the Day of Resurrection (saying)): ‘O son of Adam, I was sick but you did not visit Me.’ The person will say: ‘O my Lord, how could I visit Thee when Thou art the Lord of the worlds?’ Thereupon (God) will say: ‘Didn’t you know that a servant of Mine was sick but you did not visit him, and were you not aware that if you had visited him, you would have found Me by him?’

(God will then say) ‘O son of Adam, I asked you for food but you did not feed Me.’ The person will say: ‘My Lord, how could I feed Thee when Thou art the Lord of the worlds?’ (God) will say: ‘Didn’t you know that a servant of Mine asked you for food but you did not feed him, and were you not aware that if you had fed him you would have found him by My side?’"

——— Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1172

The Best Jihad

The Prophet Muhammad
ﷺ said: “The best (Jihad) is (to speak) word of justice to an oppressive ruler.”

——— Sunan of Abu-Dawood, Hadith 2040

Focus on the Positive

The Prophet Muhammad
ﷺ said: “A believing man should not hate a believing woman. If he dislikes one of her characteristics, he will be pleased with another.”

——— Sahih Muslim, Hadith 705

Good Conduct Toward Neighbours

The Prophet Muhammad
ﷺ said: “He will not enter Paradise whose neighbour is not secure from his wrongful conduct.”

——— Sahih Muslim, Hadith 15

A Way Out of Distress

The Prophet Muhammad
ﷺ said: “If anyone continually asks pardon, God will appoint for him a way out of every distress, and a relief from anxiety, and will provide for him from where he did not reckon.”

——— Abdu Dawood, Hadith 599

Say a Pleasant Word

The Prophet Muhammad
ﷺ said: “(Each one) of you should save himself from the fire by giving even half of a date (in charity). And if you do not find a half date, then (you can do it through saying) a pleasant word (to your brethern).”

——— Sahih Bukhari, Volume 2, Hadith 394

Do not Turn Away the Poor

The Prophet Muhammad
ﷺ once told his wife: “Do not turn away a poor man..even if all you can give is half a date. If you love the poor and bring them near you…GOD will bring you near HIM on the Day of Resurrection.”

——— Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1376

Avoid Cruelty and Injustice

The Prophet Muhammad
ﷺ once told his wife: “Avoid Cruelty and injustice..and guard yourselves against miserliness, for this has ruined nations who lived before you.”

——— Riyadh-us-Salaheen, Hadith 203

A Heart Free of Malice

The Prophet Muhammad
ﷺ once said to one of his companions: “Son, if you are able, keep your heart..free from malice toward anyone.”

——— Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 59

Those Sheltered by GOD

The Prophet Muhammad
ﷺ said: “Seven kinds of people will be sheltered under the shade of God on the Day of Judgment…They are: a just ruler, a young man who passed his youth in the worship and service of others for the sake of God…a man who is invited to sin…but declines, saying ‘I fear God’…one who spends his charity in secret, without making a show…and one who remembers God in solitude so that his eyes overflow.”

——— Riyadh-us-Salaheen, Hadith 376

Avoid What is Doubtful

The Prophet Muhammad
ﷺ said “That which is lawful is clear, and that which is unlawful is also quite clear. Between these two is that which is ambiguous, which most people do not know. One who avoids the doubtful safeguards his faith and his honor.”

——— Riyadh-us-Salaheen, Hadith 588

Good Manners

The Prophet Muhammad
ﷺ said “A believer may achieve the status of one who regularly fasts (for religious reasons) during the day and spends the night in prayer, through his good manners.”

——— Riyadh-us-Salaheen, Hadith 629

A Clean Heart

The Prophet Muhammad
ﷺ said “No companion of mine should tell me anything bad about another person. For when I meet you, I would like my heart to be clean (unbiased.)”

——— Riyadh-us-Salaheen, Hadith 1539

Humility

The Prophet Muhammad
ﷺ said “(God) has revealed to me that you should adopt humility so that no one oppressess another.”

——— Riyadh-us-Salaheen, Hadith 1589

Avoid Jealousy

The Prophet Muhammad
ﷺ said “Avoid jealousy, for it destroys good deeds as fire destroys wood.”

——— Riyadh-us-Salaheen, Hadith 1569

A Superior Provision

The Prophet Muhammad
ﷺ once asked Bilal to join in his morning meal. Bilala declined the invitation because he was fast . The Prophet then replied: “We are eating our provision and Bilal’s superior provision is in Paradise. Did you know, Bilal, that…the angels ask forgiveness for (someone who is fasting) as long as people eat beside him?”

——— Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 640

The Essence of Fasting

The Prophet Muhammad
ﷺ said “Fasting is not (just abstaining) from eating and drinking, but also from vain speech and foul language. If one of you is being cursed or annoyed, he should say: ‘I am fasting, I am fasting.’”

——— Fiqh-us-Sunnah, Volume 3, Number 132A

Fasting Brings Forgiveness

The Prophet Muhammad
ﷺ said “Whoever fasts in the month of Ramadan out of sincere faith, and hoping for a reward from God, all his previous sins will be forgiven.”

——— Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 3, Hadith 125

Fast for God

The Prophet Muhammad
ﷺ used to say when he broke his fast: “O God, for Thee I have fasted and with Thy provision I have broken my fast.”

——— Sunan of Abu-Dawood, Hadith 978

Felicity

The Prophet Muhammad
ﷺ said “If you are given health and security from evil in this world and the next, you have attained felicity.”

——— Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 781

Say What is Good OR Keep Quite

The Prophet Muhammad
ﷺ said “Anyone who believes in God and the Last Day (of Judgment) should not harm his neighbor. Anyone who believes in God and the Last Day should entertain his guest generously. And anyone who believes in God and the Last Day should say what is good or keep quiet.”

22 January 2012

"When Allah created the heavens and the earth, he created one hundred
mercies, each one can cover what is between the earth and the heaven.
He allocated to the earth only one, with which the mother is
compassionate with her child; the beast and the bird are compassionate
with their babies. When the Day of Judgment comes, Allah will complete
His mercy."

(Book -Sahih Muslim)

"A mercy from your Lord! He is indeed, the all-Hearing, the all-Knowing!" [Quran 44:6]

Credit: These are dramatic photos taken by wildlife photographer Jean-Francois Largot at Kenya’s Masai Mara game reserve. The photos chronicles a brave attempt by a lioness to rescue her lion cub from a ravine.

20 January 2012

18 January 2012

A boy was born to a couple after eleven years of marriage. They were a loving couple and the boy was the gem of their eyes.. When the boy was around two years old, one morning the husband saw a medicine bottle open. He was late for office so he asked his wife to cap the bottle and keep it in the cupboard. His wife, preoccupied in the kitchen totally forgot the matter. The boy saw the bottle and playfully went to the bottle fascinated by its color and drank it all. It happened to be a poisonous medicine meant for adults in small dosages. When the child collapsed the mother hurried him to the hospital, where he died. The mother was stunned. She was terrified how to face her husband. When the distraught father came to the hospital and saw the dead child, he looked at his wife and uttered just five words.

Questions :

1. What were the five words ?

2. What is the implication of this story?

Answer :

The husband just said "I am with you Darling"

The husband's totally unexpected reaction is a proactive behavior. The child is dead.. He can never be brought back to life. There is no point in finding fault with the mother. Besides, if only he had taken time to keep the bottle away, this would not have happened. No one is to be blamed. She had also lost her only child. What she needed at that moment was consolation and sympathy from the husband. That is what he gave her.

If everyone can look at life with this kind of perspective, there would be much fewer problems in the world.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness, and fears. And you will find things are actually not as difficult as you think..

MORAL OF THE STORY:

Sometimes we spend time in asking who is responsible or whom to blame, whether in a relationship, in a job or with the people we know. By this way we miss out something called L.I.F.E

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"Be sure we shall test you with something of fear and hunger, some loss in goods or lives or the fruits (of your toil), but give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere" [Quran 2:155]

​Humans are the most ungrateful creature on this face of earth towards his Lord, ​God has set some examples for humans with some different types of diseases; to realized how much we are blessed with his mercy, yet there are humans who argue "If there is God, why sick people exist" but they fail to realized "If there is no God, we don't exist even to ask this question", let's be thankful to our lord who has created us and who has set signs and examples to realize that there is a God who has created us in perfect design.​​

"It is He Who gave you life, and He will give you death! Then, He will bring you back to life. Man, surely, is very ungrateful!" [Quran 22:66]

Are you able to finish your day to day work normally? If yes, ​God has designed you to do so, ​just like the machines are made to finish the given task, ​Imagine what if ​God makes your body with disorders.

Let's analyse some unheard diseases, may ​God protect us from such types of diseases!

A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. But there are some disease which are very rare that you may hardly know. Such disease not only affect the human in health but makes the appearance of the infected person really worst. Not let's have a look at some of such deadly disease... ( Not for weak-hearted people )

​These examples are set by God to make the rest of the human being to understand, there is a Designer who has made you in perfect shape.

"He it is, Who shapes you in (your mothers’) wombs any way He wills. There is no god but He, the most Powerful, the Wisest." [Quran 3:6]​

16 January 2012

Pencil: I'm sorry cos you get hurt because of me. Whenever I made a mistake, you're always there to erase it. But as you make my mistakes vanish, you lose a part of yourself. You get smaller and smaller each time.

Eraser: That's true. But I don't really mind. You see, I was made to do this. I was made to help you throughout your life. Even though one day, I know I'll be gone and you'll replace me with a new one, I'm actually happy with my job. So please, stop worrying. I hate seeing you sad. :)

I found this conversation between the pencil and the eraser very inspirational. Parents are like the eraser whilst their children are the pencil. They're always there for their children, cleaning up their mistakes. Sometimes along the way... they get hurt, and become smaller (older, and eventually pass on).

Though their children will eventually find someone new (spouse), but parents are still happy with what they do for their children, and will always hate seeing their precious ones worrying, or sad.

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"We have made the (care of) parents incumbent upon man. His mother carried him through the fatigue (of pregnancy) followed by the hardship (of labor). And the weaning takes two (more) years. Thank Me and your parents. (Remember)! Towards Me is your return!" [Quran 31:14]

13 January 2012

it wasn't until 1745 that the first prototype capacitor was built while electricity was being used for defense, navigation and weaponry in prehistoric times?

there are over two hundred species of aquatic creatures that use electric signals for self-defense and hunting?

the electric eel can discharge up to 1,000 volts of electricity at one ampere, enough to kill small animals outright?

that while the adult electric eel cannot see, it has no problems finding its way around and catching fish?

the electric eel can discharge over 600 volts at will, several times per second in 3-millisecond bursts and recharge all the electric cells in one millisecond?

that a person can withstand one of these electrical discharges, but not several?

that the electric eel is not an eel but a fish?

that that the electric eel, though a fish, must surface for air no less than every 15 minutes or it would drown?

Eel-ectricity Came First

Around 600 BC, the Greeks found that by rubbing amber (a hard petrified resin) against a piece of fur it would attract particles of straw. This strange effect remained a mystery for over 2000 years. Then, around 1600 AD, Dr. William Gilbert coined the word “electric” in a report involving investigations of the reactions of amber and magnets. His experiments led to a number of investigations by many pioneers in the development of electrical technology over the next 350 years.

Finally, in 1745, it was discovered that electricity could be stored in a Leyden (a jar partly filled with water with a wire inserted through a cork into the water). The cork was used to seal the jar. The exposed wire was then brought into contact with a friction device, which produced static electricity and charged the jar. The jar was later coated with sheets of metal foil. This became the first prototype for capacitors, widely used in electronic devices today.

A few years later began the pioneering efforts involving the practical use of electricity, which we now take for granted.

However, thousands—perhaps millions—of years earlier, electricity was being used very efficiently in the Amazon basin of South America and elsewhere. It was being used for communication, navigation, self-defense and weaponry.

No, this is not about aliens from some other planet, but rather a long-time resident of planet earth: the electric eel (Electrophorus electricus).

A member of the carp or catfish family, the electric eel is one of over 200 species equipped with a bioelectric organ for making electricity. The nearest high-voltage record holder in the group is the electric catfish, which can discharge up to 450 volts of electricity. The electric eel can produce currents of one ampere at 600 to 1,000 volts—sufficient power to operate a toaster!

Long, long before the world's first hydroelectric central station at Vulcan Street Plant, Appleton, Wisconsin in 1882, this long, cylindrical, scaleless, gray brown creature was fully equipped with no less than three highly efficient generating plants. (If there be no intelligent design behind creation, how is this possible? How did the electric eel even know how to begin to equip itself with the right devises to actually make electric power in its body? What unguided chance could produce such eel-ectric wonders?

The Eel-ectric System

The eel's electrical system is composed of three parts. The main voltage plant is called the large electric organ. Another organ, called the organ of Hunter, is still somewhat of a mystery, although scientists believe that in some way it works with the large electric organ. A third organ, called the bundle of Sachs, is the power plant for the eel's radar transmitters.

Why does the eel need a radar system? Actually, it would be quite helpless either to navigate or hunt food without it, because the adult electric eel is blind. But even if it could see, visibility in the muddy waters of the Amazon basin, where the electric eel is native, is very near zero. So the Creator has equipped the eel with a remarkable radar system making it possible for the eel to navigate safely and find food without the aid of sight.

How does it locate and capture the frogs, fish and crustaceans that are its main source of food? The electric eel generates low voltage pulses from its bundle of Sachs. The electrical pulses strike any nearby object and bounce back to several special electroreceptors located on the forward part of the eel. By processing these signals, the eel can know precisely where objects are located and what they are. Is a tasty meal, such as a fish, within range? Boom! The eel emits a large burst of electrical energy, and the prey is either killed or stunned. Then, using its radar system, it quickly swims to the location of its meal and swallows it whole.

It is reported that even horses have been stunned by the eel's electrical discharge, falling into the water and drowning. Smaller animals have been killed outright. It is said that a human can withstand one electrical pulse but will succumb if the charge is repeated.

Eel-ectric Organs—How They Work

The eel's vital organs are located just behind the head, and just behind the vital organs lies its electrical equipment. Not surprising, the electric organs make up most of its forty-plus pounds and about four-fifths of its length (eels can be up to 9 feet long).

How does the eel generate so much electricity? The large electric organ contains many thousands of tiny cells called electroplates. These cells are said to be similar to battery cells. Each tiny cell stores a potential of 150 millivolts. To generate 1,000 volts would require more than 6500 cells connected in series. To generate 1 amp would require more than 50 of these series circuits connected in parallel.

Do you want to try building a replica of the eel's electrical equipment so that you can truly appreciate what “evolution” produced? To begin, you will need about 700,000 tiny flashlight batteries with small wires, being careful to connect plus to negative. If you used a common D size flashlight battery, your chain will be nearly 2000 feet long— excluding wire length! (If your assembly is to be a size suitable to fit inside the adult eel, you will have to reduce the size of each battery to less than the diameter of a human hair.)

You now have a replica of the eel's basic single series circuit capable of emitting 1,000 volts. However, your miniature circuit will not have nearly enough current to equal the eel's. To increase the current to one amp you must construct another of these assemblies identical to your first one (having 10,000 battery cells), then connect the two together, positive end to posivite end and negative end to negative end. Now you have what circuit designers call a “series-parallel circuit,” i.e., two series circuits connected in parallel. Continue building and connecting these circuits until you have added 68 more assemblies to your replica.

You now have a battery pack similar in capability to that which the Creator has enclosed in the tail section of the healthy adult electric eel (i.e., 700,000 tiny cells connected in a series-parallel circuit capable of producing 1,000 volts at 1 amp).

Of course, your replica is very much over simplified, and would hardly touch the complexity of the electric organs of the amazing creature of the Amazon.

Now think: if you were to set up such an electrical system, composed of 700,000 tiny cells all connected and able to generate power, wouldn't you want some credit for your work? And will you say that the lowly eel was able to develop all this marvelous mechanism on its own, unaided, by blind chance?

It would be simple enough to connect a few thousand batteries or capacitors in a series-parallel circuit. But you have a lot more “wiring” to do before you have an electric eel. If you would approximate the eel's capability, you must design and connect to your setup a special charger device so that you can recharge this “battery pack” in a millionth of a second without overheating or short-circuiting. Then you need thousands of electronic switches that are required for charging and then discharging at a desired rate (several times per second). Sound complicated? You still need to design and wire a central station to control all this maze of circuitry, as well as a very sophisticated radar system which works with the system.

Are we ready to give credit to God for a work of engineering far surpassing our understanding?

The Eel's Radar System

The adult electric eel, though blind, has no problems finding its way around and locating food in the murky waters of the Amazon because our Creator has equipped it with a s tate-of-art radar system. The radar system consists of a smaller “battery pack” for generating radar pulses. The eel sends out radar pulses at will, the pulses bounce off any object in the vicinity of the electric eel, and are received back by several electroreceptors along the top and forward part of the eel. Even the eel's head is optimally shaped for this task— the head is slanted downward at such an angle as provides good reception from three directions-above, front and both sides (was this special design left to the eel?). When the electrical pulse strikes an object, the signal reflected back to the eel is processed so precisely that the eel is able to know exactly where an object is, its size and construction, perhaps even more precisely than it would know if it could “see” it.

The electrical pulses are also used for communication with other eels. The dominant males make the loudest and most frequent emissions.

Who Designed It?

Assuming we had the technology to design and build such a system as the electric organs and their controls inside the electric eel, how many accumulated years do you suppose it would take for a team of chemical and electronic engineers to design, build and test a prototype that would equal the capabilities of the electric eel? (Hint: it requires months of accumulated time to turn out a prototype for just a rechargeable emergency light capable of regulating battery discharge and recharge with brownout capability.) This does not consider the months invested in the development and assembly of the individual electronic and mechanical components that the engineers already have at hand.

When the engineers are given an assignment, they have lots of theory already in mind about how to design and build the prototype. An intelligent designer is required to put it all together and make it work. The evolutionist, on the other hand, claims that the earth and all life evolved, that is, came into being by natural selection, by ever so slight hereditary changes. Look again at the electric eel. How did it get all those thousands of tiny electric cells with the electronic switches and nerve fibers connecting them? How is it that all those tiny cells can be recharged in a fraction of a second without failing?

Where did it get its navigation system, the radar system and the powerful processor to keep all these parts working in harmony without overheating or short circuiting— a major problem in designing power supplies today? This same processor also collects data from the various muscle and nerve cells in the eel's body and processes it to incredible accuracy and, in turn, sends signals to all the various parts, all automatically without any effort on the part of the electric eel! And if the electric eel did not have radar equipment by which it could know up from down it would drown in about 15 minutes15—because, though a fish, it must surface for air due to the low oxygen content of the murky waters where it lives.

Did it all just fall into place by selective hereditary evolution? What did the eel do while its electrical system was being perfected? How was the direction for development kept on course for all the billions of years claimed to develop such a marvel? Random chance seems to dictate that it would not stay on course. Would even billions of years be enough time for such a thing to occur?

I think our question regarding the electric eel has only one answer: there is an intelligent Creator who designed it, formed it and gave it life.

It is said that it can't be proved that there is a God, an all-powerful, omniscient creator.

Yet, when we look about us, the evidence speaks for itself. There is a God, a Creator, an organizer, an intelligent being over all! God is far greater than the scientist's laboratory. Yet, even there, if one looks close enough, they can see evidence of His creative genius in complexity, design and harmony far beyond our ability to understand.

"There are signs for the believing nation in the creation of their (own) selves, and the creation of the animals He has scattered (across the world)." [Quran 45:4]